Thread by @Bourassa1963

This is an EXCELLENT letter written by a teacher trying to explain our side.
I’ve 20 yrs.

Here we go.
Having entered the 15th year of my career, I am exhausted & will no longer entertain people who paint ALL people in the profession w the same brush, blame teachers for snow
1/

days/no bus days (as if we get a say!), who think just because 30+ yrs ago if you had 45 kids in a class everyone turned out fine reminder...you could HIT kids at school in that timeframe & we did NOT integrate special needs/learning needs/mental health needs then... trust me 2/

I know from experience bc I got the strap a few times...but now if a kid asks for a hug, I am supposed to say no).

I keep saying it... but for those of you that begrudge a teacher their calendar, we do not set it... . For those of you that say... if it is "for the kids, 3/

then strike in the summer on YOUR time"... contracts expire Aug 31, the expiration date is NOT set by teachers & we cannot strike
legally before contract expiration. For those that say we use "kids as pawns"... please remember teacher unions tried negotiating before the end 4/

of LAST school year, well before the contract date & Ford and his cronies took a FIVE month summer break so Ford did not ruin Scheer's chance at leadership (how'd that turn out???).

NEW ADDITION... we held out on adding extracurricular sports & clubs to work to rule because 5/

we know that "inflames public opinion"... but please remember extracurriculars are just that. EXTRA. We do not get paid extra to do these. These extras that teachers/EAs/ECEs do voluntarily, unpaid, on their own time ...are often at the cost of time with our OWN families. 6/

Does that sound like the actions of greedy, lazy, using kids as pawns kind of people???

The current Ed Minister is a 33 yr old private schooled puppet who has no children & no public school experience and the media keeps catching his lies #lyinglecce. His assistant??? 7/

A home schooled kid in his 20s - also with ZERO public school experience @samoosterhoff. And at the end of it... no one begrudges the politicians their double digit 14% salary increase AND cost of living housing increase..but how dare "greedy" teachers ask for a cost of living 8/

increase??? Please research the education it requires to teach, plus the out of pocket cost & time to climb the salary grid...the vast majority of which are women, who lose grid years by having their own families... oh, and the years it takes to even GET a contract job..9/

I have said this before, but it bears repeating...
We live in Canada. If you are envious of our salary/vacation/benefits/pension... please feel free to go to school & become a teacher as well. Do not EVER call me greedy when I (and my incredibly generous colleagues, 10/

family & friends) clothe, feed, provide supplies & help those less fortunate in my classroom. Feel free to unfriend me..because I will ALWAYS fight for my students & what is best for them. Oversized classrooms, less teachers, mandatory e-learning, less mental health support, 11/

fewer EAs & ECEs, less course choices...NONE of this is good for kids. This is NOT about a salary increase. I have kids, I teach kids... I know what I want for kids.
And what Ford/Lecce/Oosterhoff are proposing? #CutsHurtKids 12/end